Do your ideas come from within, or do they come through you?
My ideas and inspiration are sparked by both internal and external influences. As Elizabeth Gilbert explains in her book ‘Big Magic’, if we don’t grab them as they come to us, then eventually, left unattended, they will float away to someone else.
Sometimes when life is full, it’s hard to put aside the time to anchor ideas so they don’t disappear. But I usually manage to make the time, as I know how important this is – after all, I do agree with Elizabeth – they are visiting entities rather than whimsical or transient thought forms.
Often, ideas will come to me at quite random times when I least expect them, and usually when I’m most relaxed: when I’m in the shower, walking in the woods, smelling the bark of a tree, or just before I dip into sleep at night. Sometimes I wake around 4am and my mind is brimming with ideas! It’s as if sleep has loosened the hold of my ego, and I can expand into the potentiality of the cosmos. This is when I need to ensure I put them into action, which for me, means forming them in clay.
I’ve also noticed that my hormonal cycle affects the flow of inspiration. Sometimes I’m more reflective, so ideas drift, meander and percolate; while at other times, they jump in and demand my attention like frenzied children needing firm, but gentle guidance.
Ideas are born within me, reaching outwards; and born outside of me, moving towards and through me. It’s much like a moving jigsaw puzzle – they dance in my head, heart and hands until I ground them by touching clay and allowing the material to manifest the idea.
It’s exciting to feel that I am part of a wider dynamic field of energy – a soup of ideas and potential… you just need a spoon to scoop them up and use them!
I suppose in many ways I act as a translator for the ideas… so when I catch one, I trust that nature will help me create and bring it into fruition.